Prices up slightly here amid decline in Gulf oysters

A worker shucks the last of a small amount of oysters received for the day on June 24 at P & J Oyster Co., an oyster distributor, in New Orleans. Photo by Associated Press

By Jason GonzalesJason.Gonzales@ StarNewsOnline.com

Published: Saturday, August 16, 2014 at 6:00 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, August 15, 2014 at 9:20 p.m.

The decline of oyster harvests on the Gulf Coast has had only a slight effect in Southeastern North Carolina.

When the public oyster season here is in full swing in October, many area restaurants and markets carry North Carolina oysters as a preference. Until then, vendors say oyster prices will be slightly higher than usual for the Gulf oysters.

Prices vary, but as an example, the price of a dozen oysters at Wilmington's Fish Bites restaurant is up $1.50 – from $12 a dozen to $13.50.

Max Norton, general manager of the restaurant, said owners have adjusted prices.

Prices for those Gulf oysters have jumped since the 2010 BP oil spill, from about $40 a sack to as much as $62 per sack, depending on quality, according to the Associated Press.

Because of the decline in oysters from the Gulf states, supplies are tighter, Wilgis said.

Norton said he has noticed the squeeze and turned to buying from local oyster bed leaseholders, who can harvest year-round.

"It's helped with the supply," he said.

He noted North Carolina oysters typically cost more.

"But if we can get North Carolina, we try to serve only them," he said.

For everyone else, oyster harvesting in North Carolina is open from October to March.

"Once the harvest kicks off in October, things should stabilize," Wilgis said.

That's because local oysters are more popular, said Nathan King with Seaview Crab Co.. Prices vary depending on what area in the region they come from, King said, and prices of outside oysters aren't a factor.